1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a device for holding personal articles such as eyeglasses and the like. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a device that displays personal or business information or images and holds eyeglasses or sunglasses, pens, pencils or any other small object, wherein the device may be attached to any surface such as appliances, furniture, computers, clothing, clothing accessories and flat surfaces such as automobile visors and books.
2. Related Art
Many people periodically wear eyeglasses and/or sunglasses. However, at certain times, a wearer of eyeglasses or sunglasses (collectively referred to herein as xe2x80x9cglassesxe2x80x9d) may wish to remove and store their glasses for short periods when the glasses are not needed. For example, a wearer of sunglasses may remove them during evening hours when sunlight begins to fade. The wearer may typically remove them and place them in a convenient location such as on the dashboard of the car, on an adjacent seat, in a cubbyhole or the like. These locations, while convenient, may subject the glasses to be susceptible to soiling, damage and/or loss. Consequently, there is a need for a holder of personal articles, including glasses, which conveniently stores such items to prevent soiling, damage and/or loss.
Many attempts to provide such a holder have been made, some more successful than others. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,134,753 and 5,794,312 to O""Mahony disclose holding devices including a clip portion for attaching the holding device to a desired surface and a clamping portion for securing the personal article or glasses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,487 to Keely discloses a retainer for holding eyeglasses that includes a retainer ring rotatably mounted to a clamping means. The clamping means secures the retainer to a desired surface, such as a automobile visor, while the retainer ring receives and secures the temple portion of a pair of eyeglasses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,476 to Mancinelli discloses a holder for securing eyeglasses to a visor including a body and a clip. The body receives the bridge of the eyeglasses with the temple bars of the glasses resting on top of the body. The clip is disposed on a portion of the body and forms a flexible clamp for securing the holder to a visor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,459 to Goldenberg discloses a clip for securing eyeglasses or sunglasses that slides onto an article of clothing. The clip is similar to a conventional money clip but has an elastic material to create a channel for receiving an temple of a pair of glasses.
While these and other known retainers and holders for glasses and other articles may provide effective havens for protecting such items against loss, damage or soiling, none of them are particularly aesthetically pleasing and none are designed to be customized with personal images or inserts for the owner of the holder.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a personal article holder that may be customized for a particular user by allowing inserts to be displayed. Additionally it is desired to provide a personal article holder that may serve as an advertisement or other promotional item.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome at least one of the foregoing problems by providing a personal article holder with insert display including an upper arm member hingedly connected to a lower arm member via pivot mechanism and an attachment mechanism for attaching the personal article holder to desired surfaces. The attachment mechanism may be connected to the lower arm member on a side opposite the upper arm member, wherein the upper arm member includes a transparent member for displaying provided inserts placed there behind.
The transparent member may be removed entirely from the upper arm member to facilitate placement of a desired insert such as a photograph or business card. Alternatively, the transparent member may be hingedly connected at one end to the upper arm member to facilitate opening for inserting and removing pictures and other display items.